Dental Assistants
Healthcare Support
Stays chairside with the dentist: sterilizing instruments, laying out trays, preparing materials, and handing things over during treatment. Before and after, they take medical and dental histories and vital signs, may take diagnostic x-rays, record what was done, and pass along the dentist's home-care or post-procedure instructions. They also help in medical or dental emergencies and monitor supply inventory. Scheduling, records, and insurance coding can be part of the day. A match for people who like precise work at close range and switching between chairside care and desk tasks.
Typical education: Post-Secondary Certificate (vocational/technical)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$48'070
Median Wage Market Position
$48'070
What you might do
- Prepare patients and assist during dental procedures
- Sterilize instruments and set up treatment trays
- Take diagnostic dental x-rays of patients
- Record treatments and histories in dental charts
- Give patients the dentist's aftercare instructions
- Teach plaque control and daily oral hygiene
Skills that matter
- Preparing patients and sterilizing instruments
- Chairside help during dental procedures
- Charting treatment in patient records
- Taking medical and dental histories
- Exposing dental diagnostic x-rays
- Teaching oral hygiene and plaque control
AI & the future of this role
Chairside support, instrument handling, and patient comfort still depend on people in the operatory. Scheduling and billing tools may absorb some admin work, yet clinical assistance and dentist coordination remain central.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details